Overrun by Elk in 34?

[5yearcoueshunter]

Is there really this many elk in 34? Looking over the new Elk proposals on Game and Fish Website. Proposing close to 1,200 cow tags and all MB would become ES hunts.

GMU 34 (Sacramento Herd): Increasing (49:100:49)
? Increase draw A licenses to 3 hunts of 350 licenses and maintain youth A licenses at 120
? Change MB hunts to ES hunts
? Change APR hunt to APR/A hunt and put in public draw
? COER: Expand boundary east and west

 

[Muleman]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-18 AT 01:56PM (MST)[p]Yes there is a lot of elk in 34

Its Not that big of increase. There was 1100 cow tags for last year and this year if you add in all youth incentive tags. That does not include ES youth or ES handicap or Land owner tags

A few years they have added depredation cow hunts so that number hunted has been larger.

I like the idea of ES for all the hunts that really only changes the rifle MB and Muzzleloader MB. Most of those wont shoot a cow. The youth and handicap are already ES.

 

[NMPaul]

I think the elk have expanded their range in the unit. Good numbers of elk at the moment, but, age class is not what I would like it. I just hope they can back off on the tags as quickly as they have piled them on if the population gets to hammered.

 

[ELKMAN]

They totally hammered unit 9 back in the day with cow tags. One year the bull tags came as "Mb-A". There were gut piles laying all over. They just hammered them during the bull hunts.

There are a lot of elk in 34, but I hope they do not mess the unit up. It is easy to hammer the population, but not so easy to bring it back up.

 

[cosmic_cowboy]

Its always about increasing revenue.
53 where I live had allot more Elk 20 years ago than we have now and I think to many Cow tags is one of the reasons for the the decline.
Its always harder to take the tags away than to add more tags.
I hope 34 will not go the direction of 53 and 9.
Jack

 

[ixsolracxi]

sounds like a replay of unit 9...smh

 

[BUGLEnmIN]

It's a shame really. The more I hear these things and even after attending the meeting on last month I wonder wth the department is doing?? I'm with Paul, I've seen the age class of bulls in lots of units that once held plenty of older bigger bulls decline to a 300" bull being the bigger bull.

 

[5yearcoueshunter]

Muleman, thanks for the perspective. I didn't research or realize there was so many cow tags already in 34, so the proposal isn't as drastic as it seemed when I first looked at it. Went back and looked:

2018: 1,100 Cow tags
2017: 1,100 Cow tags
2016: 930 Cow tags
2015: 930 Cow tags

If the unit has endured this many cow tags and it's true that the elk herd is still increasing or high, I guess the new proposals aren't a big change.

I agree with others, I sure hope they don't overdo it. Unit 9 a prime example. Also the Gila was once hit too hard with cow tags IMO in the 90's, that herd has recovered of course.

Thanks for the responses guys.

Travis